How to Choose a Puppy

Getting it right when you choose a puppy is vital if you're going to have an animal that will give you friendship and pleasure for the years to come.

It's not too difficult to select the right breed of Dog for you but you do need a certain amount of knowledge and forward planning if you want to get off to a good start with your pet.

Where most people get it wrong is that they think you can buy any breed of Dog from any seller and he or she will still make the ideal companion or pet. But of course, there is more to choosing your new puppy than that.

Some breeds of Dog will simply always make better social companions than others - this is just a feature of their genetic make up and the breed temperament. Some Dog breeds just always have an easy going nature and others are simply genetically programmed to be easy to train. There will always be exceptions with particular dogs of course, always the odd rogue dog who breaks the mold but as a rule the breed stereotypes hold true.

But - and this is a big but - even if you choose a puppy from a breed generally thought to make better pets, the quality of that dogs individual breeding will still be critical. You have to factor in the individual puppy's pedigree. Always ask if you can see the dogs mother and ask clear questions about the character of the father.

Experienced breeders today are only too well aware that there are frightening numbers of dogs from breeds with a traditionally good temperament who display aggressive and disturbed behaviour patterns. This problem can have several causes but one of the main ones is poor breeding practices by the owners of the mother and father dogs. Interbreeding with close family members often leads to this kind of abberant behaviour pattern. A good breeder should be able to consistently breed dogs with even temperaments - even in breeds traditionally set up to be aggressive.

So - the message is: do your homework carefully before you choose a puppy.

Marjory Ramsay was a nurse and is now a busy mum looking after her children and step children. She developed the symptoms of breast cancer in 2006 and has undergone extensive treatment since then. Apart from describing her radiotherapy experiences she has also written about herceptin side effects